Bottle closure



June 8 1926. 1,588,249

c. E. MCMANUS BOTTLE CLOSURE Filed Jlily 6, 1922 0 j I-NVENTOR gZMA/ /ZW ATTORNEY Patented June I 8, 1926.

UNITED STATES CHARLES E. MGMANUS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BOTTLE CLOSURE.

Application filed July 6, 1922. Serial No. 573,177.

My invention relates to bottle closures,

and more particularly to a type of closure commonly known as a crown cap, which ordinarily embodies a shell having a fluted skirt and a cork cushion or disk within the shell against which the top of a bottle is adapted to be seated.

' The type of bottle closure above referred to has been extensively used, the sealing or cushioning disk having been made of natural cork and also of a so-called composition cork consisting of cork granules bonded together by means of a suitable binder, adhesive or glue. In such caps the sealing of the top of a bottle is against the cork or cork composition disk and in the event of voids in the surface of said disk presented toward the contents of a bottle even though they may be comparatively small, gaseswith which the beverage is charged, escape through the seal, developing what is known in the trade as leakers. V

The closure of my present invention is so constructed that a bottle 'will'be sealed both at the top of the mouth of the bottle and about the edges thereof, thus securing a double seal as a result of the compression of the material of the sealing or cushioning member, which has a rim or skirt of relatively greater thickness and resiliency than the portion of said member which engages the top of the bottle. While the thickness of the sealing or cushioning member is material only in so far as it controls the cost of the material entering into the closure, I preferablyuse a fairly thin material, since this permits economy in the production of the closure while affording a sufiiciently tight seal to hold any pressure within bottles sealed by closures of this character.

Closures embodying my invention are capable of use with heavily charged beverages and after the application of the cap, bottles and their contents may be sterilized if desired, without permitting the escape of gases as a result of the increased pressure developed during sterilization. Furthermore, sterilization cannot affect the binders, adhesives or glues used in assembling the closure, since the compression of the skirt of the scaling or cushioning member will form a tight mechanical joint between same and the material of the shell which will effectively exclude moisture from between the shell and the sealing or cushioning member.

In order to secure the desired thickness of both the top and the skirt of the sealing possesses flexibility and is non-absorbent,

so as to prevent the contents of the bottle from contacting with the resilient portion of the cap, which contact might impart to a beverage, the characteristic flavor of thisresilient material. Furthermore the nonabsorbent lamina above referred to, which may be termed the facing lamina, presents a neat finishin the closure, and permits the desired formation of the skirt thereof, since it may be given a permanent form when folded or bent under pressure.

A closure embodying my invention ,is adapted to be machine made by a continuous operation of the machine, thus avoiding rehandling of the closures during their manufacture.

The invention consists primarily in a bottle closure embodying therein a skirted shell adapted to be attached to a bottle, and a skirted laminated sealing member embodying therein a resilient lamina presented towards said shell and a substantially nonabsorbent facing lamina presented towards the contents of a bottle, the skirt of said Y sealing member being relatively thicker than the top theerof, whereby the top of the bottle will be sealed against the top of said sealing member and the edge about the top of the bottle will be sealed against the skirted flange of said member; and in such other novel features of construction and combination of parts as are hereinafter set forth and described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a closure embodying my invention V Figure 2 is a plan view of the inside or said closure; and

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modified formation of the skirt of the sealing member.

Like letters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings, I employ a shell preferably of metal, although it may be made, if desired, of other material, having an attaching portion of fluted edge a, a cylindrical portion 1) and a concaved top 0.

Within the said shell is a sealing or cushioning member formed of laminated material and cupped to conform to the cylindrical portion 6 of the shell, thus presenting a top aread substantially coincident with that of the top 0 and adapted to be engaged by the top of a bottle and to be exposed to the contents of a bottle through the top thereof; and a skirt d of relatively greater thickness than said top and adapted to be, compressed whenthe closure is being applied to the bottle, by engagement with the rounded bead about the top of a bottle.

That portion of the sealing or cushioning member which is presented toward the portions b and c of the shell consists of a thin lamina e of soft vulcanized rubber, and that lamina indicated at f which is presented toward the contents of a bottle, consists of oil or wax treated paper which is suiiiciently flexible to yield and take form under pressure while being substantially non-absorbent and substantially impermeable by gases contained within the bottle, thus constituting a protecting facing for the cushioning or sea]- ing member, which facing has a highly resilient backing, to facilitate the formation of a tight seal between same and the mouth of a bottle.

In assembling the closure, the laminated material is fed in relation to the shell in disk form, suitable dies being used to first cup this material and then fold the edge thereof upon itself under sufiicient pressure to give permanent form thereto, and double the thickness of the skirt (1. This increased thickness gives the desired added resiliency about the edge of the top of a bottle, so as to ensure a tight seal at this point and compensate for variances in the dimensions of different bottles, or possible imperfections therein. The treated paper facing f, if suflicient pressure be used, will overcome that elasticity inherent to the lamina e which otherwise would have a tendency to cause the folded edge to resume its normal cupped position.

in the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the skirt d" is formed by rolling action of the edge of the material forming the sealing or cushioning member, while in the form of the invention shown in Fig. 3, said skirt is formed by an angular bending action. so that the different thickness thereof will extend substantially parallel one with the other.

The permanency the skirt a results from the adaptability, of fibrous material such as paper, to take form as a result of attenuation and compression of the fibers therein, compression being relied upon to impart the desired circular form to the folded skirt,

msaaae and also to prevent a reflex action of the highly resilient lamina e of the sealing or cushioning member.

In actual practice, to secure the desired thickness of the cushioning or sealing member throughout, I preferably provide a lamina intermediate the laminae e and f and bonded thereto res actively, this intermediate lamina being s own at g in the drawlugs, and consisting preferably of untreated paper having one face bonded to the lamina e by means of any suitable binder, adhesive or glue, and the other face bonded to the lamina f by astratum of asphaltum or other suitable non-absorbent, flexible cement.

In assembling the closure, the lamina e is cemented to the top a of the shell by means of any desired, well known adhesive, such as copal adhesive, or adhesives containing albumen or casein, with or without sodium silicate, the final assembling of the closures in a machine involving the steps of subjecting the binder adhesive or glue to pressure applied through the cushioning or sealing member to the top and sides of the shell and against a suitable heated plate for the purpose of eliminating the moisture in the adhesive, making it tacky and securing the desired intimate relation between the two surfaces to be bonded together while the binder, adhesive or glue is in this condition.

Closures embodying my invention are applied to bottles by means of an ordinary cap ping machine whereby a closure is placed upon the neck of a bottle and forced thereon by means of a plunger, a sealing throat distorting the fluted skirt or other securing means, so as to clamp the cap about the neck of a bottle after the maximum pressure has been applied to the top 0 of the closure.

in developing the pressure upon the top of a closure, einbodylng my invention, the portion of the sealing or cushioning member which contacts with the facing lamina 7, will distort said facing lamina, the intermediate lamina and the resilient lamina e, or compress same sufiiciently to form a gas and liquid tight joint at the top of the bottle. At the same time the curvature of the bead about the top of the bottle will engage the skirt (i with the two fold result of a slight crushing action uponsaid skirt in the direction of the pressure, and a lateral compression thereof due to the curvature of the bead. These conditions will cause a slight piling of the material of the skirt adjacent the portion thereof and a sealing compression completely around the bead as well as in the piled portion. As a result, any minor imperfections in the head, or slight variances in the outside diameter thereof, will be compensated for, particularly as the increased thickness of the skirt (1' will permit a larger range of compression than could be secured by a single thickness of material.

The thickness of the Various laminae is not material to the invention, the showing of the drawings, however, being somewhat exaggerated owing to the necessity for distinguishing the different laminae one from the other. The relative dimensions of the different parts of the closure may therefore yary widely from the showing of the drawlngs.

It is not my intention. to limit the invention to the precise details of construction shown in the accompanying drawings, it being apparent that such may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent, is

1. A bottle closure embodying therein a skirted shell adapted to be attached to a bottle, and a skirted laminated sealing member embodying therein a resilient lamina presented towards said shell and a substantially non-absorbent facing lamina presented towards the contents of a bottle, the skirt of said sealing member being formed by folding the material of said sealing member upon itself,'whereby said skirt will be relatively thicker than the top thereof, so that the top of the bottle will be sealed against the top of said sealing member and the edge about the top of the bottle will be sealed against the skirted flange of said member.

2. A bottle closure embodying therein a skirted shell adapted to be attached to a bottle, and a skirted laminated sealing member embodying therein a lamina of soft vulcanized rubber presented towards said shell and cemented thereto, 'a substantially nonabsorbent facing lamina consisting of fibrous material impregnated with a moisture resisting substance, presented towards the contents of a bottle, and an intermediate lamina bonded to said resilient and to said non-absorbent facing lamina respectively, the skirt of said sealing member being relatively thicker than the top thereof, whereby the top of the bottle will be sealed against the top of said sealing member and the edge about the top of the bottle will be sealed against the skirted flange of said member.

3. A bottle closure embodying therein a skirted shell adapted to be attached to a bottle, and a skirted laminated sealing member embodying therein a lamina of soft vul-' canized rubber presented towards said shell and cemented thereto, a substantially nonabsorbent facing lamina consisting of fibrous material impregnated with a moisture resisting substance, presented towards the contents of a bottle, and an intermediate lamina bonded to said facing lamina by a flexible, moisture resisting adhesive, and to said resilient lamina, the skirt of said sealin member being relatively thicker than tie top thereof, whereby the top of the bottle will be sealed against the top of said sealing member and the edge about the top of the bottle will be sealed against the skirted flange of said member.

4. A bottle closure embodying therein a skirted shell adapted to be attached to a bottle, and a skirted laminated sealing member embodying therein a lamina of soft vulcanized rubber presented towards said shell and cemented thereto, a substantially non-i absorbent facing lamina consisting of fibrous material impregnated with a moisture resisting substance, presented towards the contents of a bottle, and an intermediate lamina bonded to said facing lamina by a flexible, moisture resisting adhesive, and to said resilient lamina, the skirt of said sealingmember being formed by folding the material of said scaling member upon itself, whereby said skirt will be relatively thicker than the top thereof, so that the top of the bottle will be sealed against the top of said sealing member and. the edge about the top of the bottle will be sealed against the skirted flange of said member.

In witness whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature this 23rd day of June, 1922.

CHARLES E. MOMANUS. 

